The crusade against Communism was even more imaginary than the specter of Communism.
Animals in general have always been my passion, project, crusade - whatever you want to call it! The ocean is such a huge, beautiful thing that I feel like we all take for granted.
Over the centuries, and even today, the Bible and Christian theology have helped justify the Crusades, slavery, violence against gays, and the murder of doctors who perform abortions. The words themselves are latent, inert, harmless - until they aren't.
My own early crusade for same-sex marriage, for example, is now mainstream gay politics. It wasn't when I started.
I want everyone in the Republican party who opposed me to know this: you are welcome to join this people's crusade. Come aboard. You are both welcome and needed. If we unite, we'll win - and we'll rebuild New York.
This crusade is much more important than the anti- lynching movement, because there would be no lynching if it did not start in the schoolroom.
When I was 12, I read about Iqbal Masih, a child slave who escaped the carpet factory where he'd been chained to a loom since the age of four. Iqbal led an anti-child labor crusade that made global headlines, including the one that first caught my attention.
The crusade to convince us that global warming can only be dealt with by wealth destruction and higher energy prices began with an effort to 'raise awareness,' which turned into some delicate nanny-state prodding before efforts to artificially inflate prices.
The March of Dimes turned a disease not nearly as prevalent as childhood cancer into a national crusade. Polio was not that widespread.
I'm not on any crusade.
